Perhaps you are someone tempted to embrace “gay rights” as a worthy cause. If so, it’s likely you recently returned to America after a lengthy sojourn on a desert island.

Everyone I’m talking to asks, “How did we get here?” and, “What can we do?” America is not a hateful country, and conservatives are not potential bullies. That shoe actually fits the other side in this debate.

And the good news is, there’s now proof. The abuses of homosexual empowerment are being documented with evidence piling up week by week. Everyday Americans are the victims, but we can learn from these incidents so others won’t be targeted as well.

The truth is “sexual orientation/gender identity non-discrimination” translates to a carte blanche to compel respect for deviance. If you decline, you will pay – your constitutional rights are a joke to militant homosexuals. Here are a dozen recent incidents that tell the story:

Gay bullying incident No. 1: A bakery in Oregon called Sweet Cakes by Melissa recently shut its doors. Why? Some time back, two lesbians wanted to order a cake for their same-sex ceremony, but owners Aaron and Melissa Klein turned them down, explaining that same-sex “marriage” isn’t consistent with their faith as Christians. The women left, and next thing they knew Sweet Cakes was sued for discrimination.

Then came intense, negative media coverage, vicious phone calls and emails, protesters, threats against their children, a boycott, then a boycott of all their suppliers, followed by an investigation by the Oregon Labor Commission, which recommended “rehabilitation.” Aaron Klein said he was forced to close his bakery because of homosexual mob tactics.

No, this isn’t Berlin 1938. It’s the birth of tyranny in America 2013.

You might think people in government agencies even on the Left Coast have better things to do. Or you might think, “Surely we Americans still have freedom of religion, freedom of speech!” The activists and their allies are blasting past that. “Catch me if you can” is the approach, deploying “non-discrimination” laws to punish their political enemies. And that includes, apparently, bakeries.

Gay bullying incident No. 2: A florist in the state of Washington is being sued after turning down a long-time customer, a homosexual man, who wanted flowers for his same-sex “wedding.” The owner politely explained her refusal arose from her Christian faith. But she didn’t get the email about the unacceptability of resisting any homosexual request these days. The gay man sued her, and then the state attorney general piled on with another suit. Good news, though: she is counter-suing for religious discrimination.

Gay bullying incident No. 3: Then there’s the Christian photographer in New Mexico who was fined $7,000, a ruling recently upheld by the creatively fascist New Mexico Supreme Court. Elane Photography declined taking photos of a same-sex ceremony, citing Christian religious beliefs. The couple sued because there are apparently no other photographers in that state. Or maybe out of pure lesbian spite.

Gay bullying incident No. 4: In private companies, homosexual advocates are inventing new methods for discriminating using “non-discrimination” policies. Former NFL player Craig James was fired after one broadcast as a commentator for Fox Sports allegedly because of remarks he made while running for the U.S. Senate in Texas. (Ted Cruz won that race.) All candidates on a panel were quizzed about same-sex marriage, and Craig James spoke up for the biblical view of sexual morality. Fox dismissed him, but James is suing Fox Sports for religious discrimination.

Gay bullying incident No. 5: A bakery in the Denver area is being sued by a homosexual couple for not baking a cake for a same-sex ceremony. Possible jail time is involved.

Gay/trans bullying incident No. 6: A bar owner in Portland must pay $400,000 to 11 transvestites because of emotional distress following a phone call. He asked that they not return to his bar; customers were complaining and leaving.

Gay/trans bullying incident No. 7: Natalie Johnson of San Antonio was fired from Macy’s in 2011 after she refused to allow a teen male to enter the women’s dressing room. She cited religious faith and concern about the privacy of biological women. Both of these protected classes – sex and religion – are included in virtually every “non-discrimination” policy or law (including Macys’).

Gay bullying incident No. 8: Dr. Frank Turek, Christian author, speaker and radio host, is also a management consultant. He was fired from his consulting contract with Cisco Systems when a homosexual participant in his class took offense after reading one of Turek’s books supporting man/woman marriage. The participant complained to Cisco human resources, and Turek was gone.

Gay bullying incident No. 9: Jim and Beth Walder are Christians who own a bed and breakfast in Paxton, Ill. When they declined renting their facility to a homosexual couple for a civil union, they were sued.

Gay bullying incident No. 10: A Vermont bed and breakfast was sued by a same-sex couple based on the state’s “human rights” ordinance for not hosting their event. The Wildflower Inn eventually agreed to pay $30,000 in settlement fees.

Are you seeing the pattern here? Vindictiveness, intimidation by establishing oppressive legal precedent. In short, this is a campaign of terrorism. The goal is for Christians to bow before homosexual rights, one way or another.

Gay bullying incident No. 11:Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association in New Jersey declined a lesbian couple’s request to use the venue for their civil union. They sued, won, and a higher New Jersey court upheld the judgment.

Gay bullying incident No. 12: A bed and breakfast in Hawaii turned down a lesbian couple’s reservation, and they sued. The lesbians won based on Hawaii’s housing “non-discrimination” law.